SEO in 2026

Grégory Dominé joins David Bain to discuss the importance of shifting to agile SEO.

Talking points include:

What does working in an agile way actually mean?

What are the benefits of working in an agile manner?

What are the practical steps that you can take in order to shift to Agile SEO?

Are there elements of SEO that can’t work in an agile approach?

What are examples of tasks that work really well using an agile approach?

Does an agile approach help you get things done more quickly?

How do you define what needs to be done first?

How do SEOs move from their current approach to a more agile approach?

Does working in an agile way help you work more effectively with other departments?

What are the first steps that an SEO needs to take to find out more about Agile?

Read the full transcript of Grégory's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/additional-insights/gregory-domine

In a world increasingly overpopulated with labels, Rejoice Ojiaku from Nelson Bostock UNLIMITED suggests brand archetypes as a way to make your identity cohesive and compelling to the customers that matter.

Rejoice says: “Start incorporating and integrating brand archetypes into your content strategy to align your content and identify buyer personas.”

What is a brand archetype?

“Brand archetypes are a set of 12 frameworks. It is a more psychological approach to developing emotional connections with your audience through your brand. A lot of brands inherit these different distinct personas that can represent a brand identity and create a narrative within your audience about what the brand is."

Read the full transcript of Rejoice's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/rejoice-ojiaku

Compliance is starting to have a more important role in many businesses, and Ash Nallawalla from CRM911 Digital is here to explain why digital governance is an area that you can’t afford to miss.

Ash says: “Digital governance is lacking in most web-enabled businesses, at least in a formal sense.

Although websites have been around for 20 years or more, their execution tends to be ad hoc, ultimately resulting in a less-than-ideal outcome for the business.

‘Digital’ is a loose term that people use when they think of computers. In the context of governance, it covers websites, social media platforms, our software if we make software, and apps for mobile phones and tablets if we make apps. The definition tends to vary a little. It usually implies the internet; it doesn’t have to, but it usually does.”

Read the full transcript of Ash's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/ash-nallawalla

Effective communication is about more than just making yourself heard, and Anthony Barone from StudioHawk UK knows how to get clients and agencies to sing from the same hymn sheet.

Anthony says: “I’m going to explain how to get optimal results from an agency and how an agency can get good results from their client.

It’s all about working together and focusing on that relationship.”

What does an optimal client-agency partnership look like in 2025?

“Traditionally, it would just be: ‘We pay you, you do work.’ Then, sometimes, the client won’t actually know what you’re doing and it just keeps on rolling and rolling."

Read the full transcript of Anthony's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/anthony-barone

Building on Adrijana’s motivational advice, Anna Bravington from Those That Dare and Oxford Innovation Space helps you speak up and have your voice heard in budget discussions.

Anna says: “Integrate SEO into the business better so that you can talk finance and get those CFOs to give you a budget.”

Is it an SEO’s fault when they don’t get the budget or a CFO’s fault?

“It’s a bit of both. There is a balance and tension between CFOs and CMOs. Apparently, 40% of CFOs don’t think that CMOs and marketing people can speak business, and marketers also don’t think that finance people understand marketing."

Read the full transcript of Anna's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/anna-bravington

David Bain and Otuto Umeji discuss what content is required for each stage of the buyer journey.

Talking points include:

How do you create content for each stage of the buyer journey?

How do you establish user intent?

How do you know what type of content to write?

How do you measure success?

Read the full transcript of Otuto's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/additional-insights/otuto-umeji

It’s not just the decision-makers who undervalue SEO; sometimes it’s SEOs themselves. Adrijana Vujadin from AV Mindset Coaching urges you to fight for what you’re worth.

Adrijana says: “Stop under-earning.”

Are SEOs bad at charging what they’re worth?

“Yes, because people are not respecting them enough. That is why we lack confidence. Money, and money mindset, is a specific topic that not a lot of SEOs are talking about. Whenever we mention money, there is a negative attitude around it. People say that it’s not all about the money and they will say they’re getting enough."

Read the full transcript of Adrijana's interview at https://majestic.com/seo-in-2025/adrijana-vujadin

In a world where the value of SEO can often be overlooked by decision-makers, it’s essential for SEOs to be able to articulate the value of their activities. This is where we begin, with Lucia Dello from Dello Insights.

Lucia says: “Prove the value of your e-commerce SEO.”

How do you prove the value of it?

“In this world, where acquisition remains a challenge and marketing budgets are tight, we want to demonstrate that SEO is bringing in the people you want. Retailers are looking well beyond the campaign level. They want to understand their whole sales portfolio and how it's growing over time. Therefore, you want measures that don't stop at the level of the activity, engagement or a sales total."

David Bain and Jonathan Moore discuss the importance of leveraging planning strategy, data analysis and what-if scenarios to navigate ambiguity.

Talking points include:

What data analysis are you referring to when planning a strategy?

Where are the best sources of data?

What are some examples of what-if scenarios that you are referring to?

Link profile may not be what you want it to be?

Content may not be what you hoped it would be?

How does this help to navigate ambiguity and the unknown?

What type of ambiguity are you trying to avoid?

Why is it important to do this?

How does this measurable impact your SEO success?

How often should you be planning SEO strategy?

What else should be incorporated in an SEO strategy?

David Bain and Sabine Ljunggren discuss why you need to add social media to your search strategy.

Talking points include:

Why do you need to add social media to your search strategy?

What does this mean in practice?

What social media are we talking about?

What content works best on different social media sites?

Why does this fit as part of a search strategy?

How do you measure success on social?

How do you measure success as part of an integrated search strategy?

How will this continue to evolve in the future?